Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots showed off their rapidly evolving athleticism and autonomous navigation skills as they outpaced human runners in a half-marathon in Beijing on Sunday, highlighting the industry’s rapid technical advances.
The inaugural edition of the race last year was fraught with setbacks, and most robots failed to finish. The 2025 champion robot clocked a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, more than double the time of the human winner of the conventional race.
The contrast this year was striking. Not only did the number of participating teams increase from 20 to over a hundred, but several robots in the lead were notably faster than professional athletes, outpacing the human winners by more than 10 minutes.
Unlike last year, nearly half of the participating robots navigated the more difficult terrain autonomously rather than being directed by remote control during the 21km race. The robots and 12,000 men and women raced on parallel tracks to avoid collisions.
The winning robot, developed by Chinese smartphone brand Honor, completed the race in 50:26, 6:54 faster than the half-marathon world record set by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon last month.
Teams from Honor, a company derived from Huawei, occupied the three places on the podium, all with autonomous navigation and recording times that surpassed the world record. Du Xiaodi, an Honor engineer on the winning team, said their robot had been in development for a year, equipped with 90cm to 95cm long legs to mimic elite human runners and liquid cooling technology used in their smartphones.
Du said the sector is still in its early stages, but he was confident that humanoids will reshape many industries, including manufacturing.
“Running faster may not seem significant at first glance, but it allows technology transfer, for example for structural reliability and cooling, and eventually industrial applications,” Du said.
IMPROVEMENTS IN ROBOTICS
Viewers largely saw the variety of humanoids of different sizes and gaits on display as evidence of China’s improvements in robotics.
“The running posture of the humanoid robots I saw was actually quite impressive… considering that AI has only been in development for a short time, I am already very impressed that it can achieve this level of performance,” said Chu Tianqi, a 23-year-old engineering student at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
“The future will definitely be an era of AI. If people don’t know how to use AI now, especially if some are still resistant to it, they will definitely become obsolete,” he said.
Another spectator, 11-year-old student Guo Yukun, said that after watching the race he was inspired to pursue a university degree in robotics in the future.
Guo said he takes regular classes in robotics theory and programming at his elite school in Beijing, and is part of his school’s team for the International Computer Olympiad, a global programming competition for high school students.
ECONOMICALLY VIABLE APPLICATIONS
While economically viable applications of humanoid robots still remain largely in the testing phase, the half-marathon’s display of these machines’ physical prowess highlights their potential to reshape everything from dangerous jobs to battlefield combat.
However, Chinese robotics companies are still struggling to develop the AI software that would allow humanoids to match the efficiency of human factory workers.
Experts said the skills displayed during the half-marathon, while fun, do not translate into the widespread commercialization of humanoid robots in industrial settings, where manual dexterity, real-world awareness and capabilities beyond small-scale repetitive tasks are crucial.
China is seeking to become a global powerhouse in this frontier industry, and has enacted a wide range of policies, from subsidies to infrastructure projects, to cultivate local companies.
The country’s most-watched TV show, CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala, in February showcased China’s push to master humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing.
This included a lengthy martial arts demonstration where more than a dozen Unitree humanoids performed sophisticated fighting sequences brandishing swords, batons and nunchucks in close proximity to human child performers.
